Poetry spotlight: am i exciting to you?

Concordia poet balances humour with gravitas in her creative works

Raised both in Toronto and New York City, Phoebe Fregoli is in her third year of creative writing and women’s studies at Concordia. In her poetry, Phoebe often juxtaposes a playful and childlike voice with more serious subject matter, striking a masterful balance of humour and gravitas. In addition to poetry, Phoebe is an avid writer of fiction and scripts. Her most recent work, Be Tween, a play which she wrote and directed, was produced by Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre at McGill. This column was put together with the help of Annah-Lauren Bloom.

am i exciting to you?

she says if your underwear is wet why don’t you take it off. i’m wearing a skirt and the pool is gated. we have to climb to get out, is this flirting? she says let me help you and gives me her thigh to stand on to hop over the fence. she says let’s go to my house: she says it half whispering even though we’re alone with the blue park and it makes me lean in closer to hear. i spot new freckles, the always new ones every june. we bike to her place and her hands rest on my shoulders like they always do when we share my bike but this feels new like only this night i can feel how small the gap is between my back and her boobs. if i turn around i think i know i’d see her nipples hard. but maybe that’s just the wind and the wetness or maybe that’s me. we lay on her bed like normal, face to face on her pillow. is this flirting? i start to feel sick, like sick. she says boys are stupid and she’s tired of them. is this flirting? she says she is waiting for something. girls are always waiting. she stares at my lips and now i’m really sick so sick for her. it is concentrated you-know-where and i sit up and she says did i upset you and i say ow and she says you’re bleeding. right between my legs she says it’s so red. she says can i? this has never happened before. she touches my thigh red fingers she licks her fingers her lips say red. she leans in, copper kiss. is this flirting?